The story
Immaculata was founded as Villa Maria College, a women's college, in 1920. It was the first Catholic college for women in the Philadelphia area. The name was changed to Immaculata College in 1929.
Founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculata is part of the greater IHM community, which includes the neighboring House of Studies and an academy for girls (now split into two campuses, Lower School and High School). The university became co-educational in the fall of 2005.
The current location of Immaculata University is in the Great Valley region of Chester County, Pennsylvania, near the Philadelphia Main Line community of Malvern, purchased by the sisters in 1906. The original 198-acre (0.80 km2) plot has grown to 373 acres (1.51 km2) since that time.
In June 2002, Immaculata College received confirmation of university status from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Effective August 2002, the college is now known as Immaculata University.
Barbara Lettiere assumed the office as the tenth president of Immaculata University on July 1, 2017, and is the first lay president of Immaculata.
From Wikipedia’s article on Immaculata University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4